Peanut Butter has kind of exploded on the market in the last few years with all different flavors; honey, cinnamon raisin, dark chocolate, less sugar, added omega 3's, maple, all natural, organic, etc. If you eat as much as I do you also notice it's incredibly expensive.
The Peanut Butter Co. out of New York has some of the most unique flavor combinations and freshest taste around, but it's also around $5 a jar and not easily found at every grocery.
I also recently stumbled upon Peter Pan's Whipped Peanut Butter - which offers 40-50 less calories per serving, 1/3 less sugar and is smooth as silk!
Here's a question... why can't I make my own?
So, I did some research and it appears all you really need is a few basic ingredients:
Peanuts (of course!) - You can either roast and salt your own or buy them roasted.
Salt (if you prefer to leave that out, it's your choice! - another benefit of making your own)
Peanut Oil - this is optional - natural peanut butter you find at the store will likely not contain this.
Any flavorings you wish...
A good powered food processor - I learned the hard way.
For years I've been getting by with this little 2.5 cup food processor, I use it to make Pesto and Salsa... however, I don't think it makes a good peanut butter - so for this reason, use a bigger, better food processor - you will find lots of other uses for them in your cooking adventures. So go ahead, splurge a little and pass up the $15 smaller version.
Now, I will still eat the peanut butter I made even though it's not as pretty (and why there isn't a photo for it!) because it still tastes pretty dang good. I was attempting to use the peanuts I had on hand... bought them in a can - honey roasted - but they weren't as "roasted" as I liked... so... I roasted them at 300 degrees for 5 minutes on a baking sheet, tossed them around with a spatula and roasted them for another 4 minutes.
Once cooled, I added them to the food processor with some ground cinnamon. You basically just want to grind them down to the consistency you're looking for. Try it on high for one minute, scrape down the sides, another minute, and repeat process until you get the smooth or chunky peanut butter you're looking for.
The oil will help push the nuts around if you decide to go that route. I attempted to add a tablespoon or two of water so as not to raise the caloric value but am not sure that helped much in the way of texture.
If you have your own peanut butter recipe successes, trials or failures please share them in the comments section below! I'd love to hear other opinions since I am very new at this process!!
Top 5 Favorite Peanut Butters:
1. Jif- Creamy - maybe it's childhood nostalgia - but for whatever reason, this is always my go to!
2. Kroger Maple Peanut Butter - such a warm, fall flavor, and not overwhelming!
3. Peter Pan Whipped - good smooth texture - great on calories and sugar
4. Peanut Butter Co. - Cinnamon Raisin Swirl - I love this, my only issue is I'd like less raisins and more peanut butter!
5. Peanut Butter Co. - Dark Chocolate Dreams - how can you go wrong with dark chocolate and peanut butter? You can't.
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